Device for actuating artificial limbs



Mwch 4, H240 n fiasyz O. SEMELEDER DEVICE FOR ACTUATING ARTIFICIAL LIMBS Filed. March 15 1921 A I mem%0%;

Patented Mar. 4, 19241.

OSKAR SmEELE-DER, 0F VIENNA, AUSTRIA.

Application filed March 15, 1921. Serial No. 452,536.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSKAR SEMELEDER, medicine doctor, a citizen of the Realm of Austria, residing at V. F'ranzensgasse 24, Vienna, Austria, have invented an Improved Device for Actuating Artificial Limbs, of which the following is a specification.

Artificial limbs are generally operated by means of the corres'ponding'natural limb.

An artificial arm, for example, is moved and the elbow joint fixed with the help of the other arm and hand.

The moving of the wrist and fingers must also be done by the other hand, so that virtually, the natural arm is obliged to serve the artificial one. The object of this invention is to do away with this inconvenience.

The device contains a movable body, which, when the position of the point or the surface supporting it is altered, assumes by its weight a certain'position effecting by this movement the coupling or uncoupling of any part or moving organ of the artificial limb.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one of several possible forms of a device based on this principle. Y

Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of the form of device selected as an example, the socket portion being broken away to display the interior parts;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereof;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail view of a portion of thedevice;

Figure 4 is a modified form of a structural detail; andFigure 5 is a view showing the application of the device to the stump of a human arm.

In the device shown as an exemplification the part 1 represents the socket or carrierframe designed to receive the stump of the arm as shown in Fig. 1. Three bars 2, 3 and 4, preferably of quadrangular section, can slide up and down in guides 5, 6 and 7 fixed on or made by the socket 1. The bar 2 is provided on the inside with anumber of notches 8, a pawl'll, pivoted at 10 to the socket i and by a spring 9 pressed against the bar, serving to keep the latter fixed in one of. the different positions. On the lower end of the bar a part of the artificial limb may be attached, for instance, a fore-arm having an aperture to receive the bar, which may be fastened to the side fore-arm by a bolt or else some tool or tool-holder may be attached to it. As the bar 2 can slide up and down on the upper arm, the distance of the tool from the stump can be chosen at will. Therefore the tool can be used at the height of the elbow-joint or in the position of the normal length of an arm or in any position intermediate.

The lower end of the bar 4 is bent in a right angle and a rope 18 is fastened thereon which may be secured to a tool. This bar 4 is provided with a part 19 projecting inwardly through a slot of the socket.

The bar 3 can be pulled up by a rope 12 and a spring 13 pushes it down again, when the rope is released. The lower end of the bar 3 is also bent to a right angle as shown by Fig. 3 and carries by a pivot 15 a pendulum .14. If the position of this point of suspension is altered, i. e. if for instance the socket is shifted or inclined, the pendulum will swing and the one of the two lateral projections or fingers 16 or 17 of the pendulum will be placed either under the pawl 11 of the bar 2 or under the projecting part 19 of the bar 4. If for instance the finger 16 engages with the panel. 11 and the rope 12 is pulled by the shoulder of the bearer in a known manner, the pawl disengages from the notch in the bar 2. The bar by its weight glides down, till it touches the work ing table and will be fixed again by the pawl in another notch, when the pulling of the rope ceases. To push back the bar the pawl 11 has to be withdrawn in themanner just described and the end of the bar pushed against the working-table.

If the stump or socket is shifted backwards,the finger 17 will be placed under the projection 19 and by pulling the rope 12 the bar 4 with the rope 18 will be pulled upwards. This movement may be used to produce motion of the hand, the fingers, etc. The ropes 12 and 18 may be of the wellknown cable-type and surrounded by a flexible tube 12 made of steel-wire.

The power for the said movements may be obtained from one of the shoulders by a belt IOU leading from the shoulder down, passing between the legs and carried up again to the shoulder or else by a belt wound round both shoulders and being stretched by a. move ment of both shoulders as shown in Fig. 5. In some cases the weight of the body might be used or the movement of a leg not only for moving the aritficial limb or its parts, but also "for handling dilierent tools as tongs, scissors etc.

Fig. 4 illustrates another form of the movable weight carried by the bar 3. In this case it consists or" a sliding piece 21, an ranged in a guide 20. When this guide is inclined, the sliding piece glides to the cit or to the right audits ends perform the same function as the figures 16 and 17 ot the pendulum 1 1 (Fig. 1).

Having thus fully described my inven tion, in its preferred form, and it being understood that my inventive conception is susceptible of translation, as regards its underlying principles, into a plurality of concrete embodiments, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to receive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with a tool, locking-means carried by said socketanenr her and engageablc with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, a second rod also slidably carried by said socket-member and adapted to be connected with a tool, and mechanism also carried by said socket-mem her for selectively releasing said lockingmeans, or engaging said second rod to move the same.

2. A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socli'et-membei. adapted to receive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socket-- member and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with tool, locking-means carried by said socket-memher and engageable with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, a second rod also slidably carried by said socket-member and adapted to be connected with a tool, and mechanism also carried by said socket-member for selectively releasing said lockingmeans, or engaging said second rod to move the same, and including a pendulum rockable into engagement with said lockingmeans to release the same, or into engagement with said second rod to move the same.

3." A device for actuating artificial. limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to re ceive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an. artificial limb, or with a tool, locking-means carried by said socket-mean her and engageable with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, a second rod also slidahly carried by said socket-member and adapted to be connected with a tool, a third rod also slidably carried by said socketmcmber and carrying a pendulum rockable into engagement with said locking-means to release the same, or into engagement with said second rod to move the same.

4. A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to receive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with a tool, locking-means carried by said socket-member and engageable with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, a second rod also slidably carried by said socket-member and adapted to be connected with a tool, a third rod also slidably carried by said socketmember and carrying a pendulum rockable into engagement with said locking-means to release the same, or into engagement with said second rod to move the same, and spring means for automatically returning said third rod to initial position after movement thereof.

5. A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to re ceive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with a tool,

locking means carried by said socket-mem-' her and engageable with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, and a pendulum rockable into engagement with said lockingmeans to release the same.

6. A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to receive the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said soeketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with a tool, locking-means carried by said socket-memher and engageable with said rod to hold it in adjusted position, and mechanism carried by said socket-member and including a pendulum rockable into engagement with said locking-means, for releasing the same.

7 A device for actuating artificial limbs, comprising a socket-member adapted to reccivc'the stump of a human arm, a rod slidably carried longitudinally of said socketmember and adapted to be connected with part of an artificial limb, or with a tool, a pawl pivoted to said socket-member and engageable with said rod to hold the same in adiusted position, and mechanism carried by said socket-member for rocking said pawl out of engagement with said rod 7 8, A device for actuating artificial limbs,

comprising a soeket-member adapted to re' her and engageable with any one of said ceive the stump 01 a human arm, a rod slid notches to hold the rod in adjusted position, ably carried longitudinally of said sooketand mechanism carried by said socket-mem- 1 member and adapted to be connected with her for rocking said pawl out of engagement part of an artificial limb, 01' With a tool, with one of the notches in said rod.

and provided longitudinally With marginal notches, a pawl pivoted to said socket-mem- DR. OSKAR SEMELEDER. 

